Absolute Power Corrupts...

This week, all the buzz on talk radio and the news has been about AIG paying $165 million in bonuses to sales people and executives. These bonuses were promised to these people in contractual agreements long ago, well before any bailouts started. However, AIG has accepted $170 billion in Federal Bailout Money, so Washington is pitching a bit of a fit about these bonuses. Apparently, they can't do the math in Washington, because the bonuses amount to slightly less than 0.1% of the bailout money. Furthermore, AIG was contractually obligated to pay these bonuses (i.e. they would have gotten in legal trouble if they didn't pay them).

That hasn't stopped some of our Democratic Lawmakers from trying to get that money back, by any means necessary. Here's what Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had to say:

"My colleagues and I are sending a letter to Mr. [AIG CEO Edward] Liddy informing him that he can go right ahead and tell the employees that are scheduled to get bonuses that they should voluntarily return them, because if they don’t, we plan to virtually tax all of it. He should tell these employees if they don’t give the money back, we’ll put in place a new law that will allow us to tax these bonuses at a very high rate so that it’s returned to its rightful owners, the taxpayers."

But, it didn't stop there. Today in Congressional hearings, Representative Barney Frank, demanded that AIG CEO Edward Liddy give him all the names of the people who received bonuses. When Liddy said he would only do that if he could be guaranteed the names would remain anonymous, Barney said he wouldn't guarantee that, and reiterated his demand. Again, Mr. Liddy stated his conditions and expanded on them by stating that he feared for his employees' safety, reading 2 death threats he received to justify his concern. Apparently threats against American citizens doesn't phase ol' Barney because he reiterated his demand and threatened to subpoena the names if necessary.

My question to Barney is...what are you going to do with those names? Have them arrested for taking money that was contractually obligated to them? Enact laws requiring specifically named AIG employees to pay higher taxes? What? This isn't the 1950's, and we certainly don't need another Joe McCarthy.

It appears to me that our friends on the left have forgotten the old adage about Absolute Power...it corrupts absolutely. The boldness of these statements is shocking. The Democrats are overreaching in their power, and I hope the American electorate is smart enough to realize it and vote as many of these bums out as they can in 2010. But, I also fear the damage these people can do in the next 2 years. With a Congress this liberal, and the most liberal President in history, the amount of havoc they can create is scary.

The part of this I find most sickening is, most of these officials would have no problem writing $165 million in Pork Barrel projects for their district or state into a spending bill, but when American citizens work hard and earn $165 million, they are outraged. That might be irony, but don't quote me on that, as I'm always fuzzy on the definition of irony.